Orocobre posts 11% drop in lithium output from Argentina project

Australia’s Orocobre on Wednesday reported an 11% drop in quarterly production from its flagship Olaroz lithium project in Argentina following shutdowns and warned of an impact to battery supply chains outside of China for up to six months.

Production from the facility for the March quarter was 2,732 tonnes compared to 3,075 tonnes a year earlier, as the miner lost a total of 21 days of production due to shutdowns for maintenance and the coronavirus pandemic.

“The ex-China battery supply chain will be impacted by up to six months and economic factors are expected to delay the recovery of battery and non-battery demand to 2021,” Orocobre said.

(By Sameer Manekar; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)